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"For Sale" … [Read more...]

Isn't personal finance exciting? I know, I know, it really is, and sometimes I can hardly contain myself. On Friday, I wrote a fun little piece called "Question Of The Week: Should I Pay Down My Student Loans ?", and I got some great responses and answers from my awesome readers. As I was responding to the various comments and suggestion, I saw a common thread weave throughout, which was to obviously "PAY DOWN THE FLIPPIN' LOAN!" The other one was a bit more interesting, and I'd like to explore it a bit further.
Why Do I Have So Much Cash Saved Up?
I got a few responses from readers asking … [Read more...]

As the New Year approaches, we all look ahead and see a blank slate. No matter what happened in 2012, we know that we're going to accomplish EVERYTHING in 2013. We've got big plans, big dreams, and the future looks so bright we need some flippin' sweet shades! And as the year rolls around, we step out the front door, ready to take on the world. The only problem is…..we forgot to put on pants!
You Need A Plan
Many believe that success is sometimes a fluke, or a big break. You just end up in the right place at the right time, and everything just falls in to place. Even the media plays to … [Read more...]

When I talk to people about saving money, the conversation always goes one of two ways. One; The person is not saving money at all and gives me a list of reasons why they can't save any money. Two; The person is saving some money from every paycheck, using the "pay yourself first" method (which is awesome, by the way), but when I ask what they are saving for, they give me a blank stare and say "savings". Though I commend the person for saving money instead of blowing it all, I do think that having arbitrary savings is a complete waste of money.
Money Without a Name is Worthless
Lets say … [Read more...]

Don't you hate it when you are cruisin' along, rockin' your awesome budget for the month and you get blindsided by unexpected expenses?! Thing like birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries pop up out of NOWHERE and surprise you! Now your perfectly normal month just got turned upside-down by all of these different occasions. I can't believe the nerve of some people, being born and celebrating it on the SAME DAY, EVERY YEAR. What's up with that? Anyway, if you find yourself in this situation, no need to fear, because you actually already planned for it. Wait…….you did plan for it…...right?
What … [Read more...]

Of the many things I learned from Dave Ramsey, this is not one of them. This is something my mother-in-law suggested we do early in our marriage. She had been the single-parent of 3 children for over a decade at that point, and was (and still is!) an amazing budgeter. Since this is the only piece of financial advice she felt was important to impart to us before we started our life together, I knew to take heed and try to implement this as soon as possible. I would not hesitate to say that this has been the single most impactful decision we have ever made in terms of managing our money. Here's … [Read more...]

Welcome back to the budgeting basics series. Today we are going to get your budget set up.We will set goals by starting at the end and reverse engineering them to make them attainable. So far, you have put together a priorities list to help guide where your money should go and you have tracked your income and expenses so you can see where your money has been going. Now we can start putting the two together in your actual budget.
Start With Your Actual Spending
They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. That's 21 days of repeating an action without going back to your old way of doing … [Read more...]

What a wonderful weekend we had. Sun was out, birds were singing and our water heater stopped working….wait. WHAT?!
Yup, it finally happened. Owning a home had finally caught up to us and we were about to fork out some serious dough to get our precious hot water back. People had warned us about the "true" cost of home ownership. Many people said homes are a burden compared to renting because of all the repair costs. And it seemed like we were about to prove them right by forking out $1000+ on our first home repair ever.
Be Prepared
And then I remembered that we had actually … [Read more...]

Meet Jacob

I'm a husband, father, and budget nerd who loves taking complex financial problems and breaking them down into a simple, easy-to-follow financial plan. It all started after getting engaged over 6 years ago... Read More…

Disclaimer

Information presented on iHeartBudgets is intended for informational purposes only and is not meant to be taken as financial advice. While all attempts are made to present accurate information, it may not be appropriate for your specific circumstances and information may become outdated over time. I am not a personal finance professional and you should seek out a professional before making any financial decisions.